Where's Abby (+ Dylan and dogs)

In pure Dylabby fashion, we had a very informal plan to head east to see the Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds, John Day River, and desert time, but then as we were packing up the car that morning, we changed our plans and decided to head north to Colchuck Lake in Washington. More chance for seeing the Northern Lights? Autumn colors? Less chance of rattlesnakes biting our dogs? Those were a few of the random reasons that were thrown out there.  We booked a hotel on the drive up for Wenatchee, WA near Leavenworth-- Leavenworth was crazy expensive, later to find out the Oktoberfest reason why. And booking camping in Washington is not fun. If anyone has tips that don’t involve having to book 6months (or even a month) in advance or having to do a whole lottery to get a permit, please let us last-minute travelers know. We did get a good stop in Leavenworth for some German beers, people watching, and a beautiful river walk right in town, and a lovely sunset dinner view.  The next morning,

Dylan has never been a big birthday celebration guy. This year when I asked him what he wanted to do, he said something like, "I don't know. Maybe get some nice dinner around town somewhere?" But I on the otherhand  must celebrate birthdays. Especially Dylan's. This guy deserves a memorable celebration.  So I insisted we go to Crater Lake and it was so worth it. What an incredible, jaw dropping, thought provoking place. The first night, we sat enjoying the bluest waters with the perfect lighting. We camped at Mazama where we were all set up with our new camping boiler thing to cook up our freeze dried camping meals, new headlamps, coffee plans... and then ate some hot chili and a meal at the campground lodge. haha We at least enjoyed out coffee at the tent the next morning.  The next day was filled with three fantastic hikes to see the Watchman Lookout for epic views of this like 2000' deep, 7700 year old crater. Then we got a lovely wildflower loop and waterfall

This Sunday Times got held up on the route to your screen. The carrier must've been some bandits on the road or something.  Monday, I'd never felt so scatterbrained in my life. There were so many steps I needed to take in wacky orders that weren't able to be done before these other steps and then you'd get new information that changed the whole process and needed to scrap it and start over. I felt a mess.  But then Tuesday I got to go into the schools and see my sweet kids and it was wonderful.  Wednesday and Thursday were remote days that were so productive, comfortable and fulfilling. Like a 35 minute dog walk + bringing coffee home to my hubby vs a 35 minute drive? Yes please. Eating a healthy lunch and doing laundry on my lunch break. Being immediately home at 4:00 and ready for bike rides/walks. Working from a cozy coffee shop with Dylan one day. It's all just glorious.  Wednesday after work, we went on a long bike ride to Woodstock to putter around, then to Se